Kentucky Boasted Record Production and National Leaders in 2018
Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles saluted Kentucky’s soybean producers by proclaiming Soybean Week in Kentucky the week of March 4.
“Kentucky soybean growers produced a record crop in 2018,” Commissioner Quarles said. “Kentucky is recognized as a national leader in the American soybean industry with our own Davie Stephens of Clinton serving as president of the American Soybean Association and Keith Tapp of Sebree serving as chairman of the United Soybean Board. I commend Kentucky’s soybean growers and pledge the resources of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture to help them find new markets around the globe.”
Kentucky produced a record 103 million bushels of soybeans in 2018, the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) reported. Kentucky growers achieved an estimated yield of 52 bushels per acre.
Kentucky soybeans generated $907.7 million in farm cash receipts from 102.8 million bushels in 2017, according to NASS. Henderson County was the top soybean-producing county in 2017 with more than 5.4 million bushels, followed by Daviess (5.36 million), Graves (4.98 million), Christian (4.77 million), and Union (3.91 million) counties.
Soybeans and their components, soybean oil and soybean meal, are used for feed for poultry, Kentucky’s leading agricultural commodity. Soybeans and their components also are used in livestock feed, biodiesel fuel, industrial applications, and as ingredients in food products, among other applications.